I also will be updating her bio, so if anyone has any info that they think that I should add, shoot me a message: )
most taken from Wikipedia,documentaries and other sites:
June Tyson (1936-1992) was the first female vocalist hired in Sun Ra's band and performed with him regularly, from at least the early 1970s to her death. Sun Ra was one of the first musicians in any genre to experiment with electronic keyboards, fiddling around with these then-futuristic instruments in the late ’30s. June was a very tall woman standing at about 6 feet and would be decked out in Afro-extraterrestrial costumes along with Sun Ra and his Arkestra. Ra had decided to spread his message through lyrics as well as music, and Tyson fit the Arkestra perfectly in spirit and style. She eventually became Sun Ra's foil, confidently espousing Ra's puzzling ideology. She said that when she was on stage singing Sun Ra's lyrics, she thought of herself as a celestial being.
You can see her in some of Ra's films:
"Space is the Place (1974)"
and "A Joyful Noise (1980)"
AND A MUST SEE VIDEO!! "Calling Planet Earth" June Is Hypnotizing! WATCH IT NOW!!!
It's really hard to find other recordings of June Tyson – no artifacts to testify to her pre-Ra accomplishments. Tyson was diagnosed with cancer and grew increasingly ill. When she was unable to sing because of her illness, she played the violin instead.Tyson's voice was somewhat reminiscent of Sarah Vaughn's, though she was not as technically skilled as Vaughn, coming more from the blues shouter tradition. Her voice and quality added a different dimension to the Arkestra and had a calming effect on Sun Ra. A lot of the imagery and artist designs that you see on Sun Ra and the Arkestra was Junes ideas and allowed Ra to open up his presentation as a musician.
The Arkestra kind of lived like monks..no women,they didn't get high,they even lived together. They would even ask about June being the only women around and she would respond by saying: "I'm an angel, I ain't got nothing to do with no Woman..."
June & Sun Ra Arkestra
"space is the place
@ Bayview Opera House
San Francisco 11.2.88"
A LITTLE ABOUT SUN RA:
He is still an under-recognized genius with profound influence on much of today's most intense music.(Bjork, Stereolab, MMW, George Clinton, Phish, Blues Traveler) If you know much about the ahead-of-his-time genius Sun-Ra, you'll know that he recorded over 350 albums over his 45-year career as a space-jazz composer, philosopher, futurist, kook, genius and shaman.
He distributed most of his works thru his own incredibly erratic and self-produced 'saturn' label. some records had hand-drawn artwork, some were printed the normal way, some were blank white curiosities with no info, some had stickers or cryptic symbols stamped on the covers, some had track listings, some didn't ... and the discographical info was usually missing. In other words, these albums are some of the most unique & creative in Human history.
Watch a clip from "Space is the Place" (site: http://www.outerspacewaysinc.com) "Alter Destiny" enjoy!
Watch a clip from "Space is the Place" (site: http://www.outerspacewaysinc.com) "Night Club Destroyed" enjoy!